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‘It is really bad’: Nigerians go hungry as food inflation soars

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3 years ago

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‘I can’t simply afford to give my children what they really need in terms of food,’ said Feyintola Bolaji, a mother of three in her 50s based in Nigeria’s southwestern city of Ibadan.

Food inflation in Nigeria rose to 22.95 percent in March, caused by wide-ranging price increases across items such as cereals, yam, meat, fish and fruits [File: KC Nwakalor/Bloomberg]

Nigerian merchant Feyintola Bolaji, struggling with stagnant earnings and dwindling sales, is now being squeezed by the ever increasing prices demanded by her food suppliers, leading her to cut down on the amount she can put on her own family’s table.

Bolaji’s belt tightening is being shared by millions across Africa’s most populous nation. Not long after Nigeria’s statistics agency revealed that one in three people in the continent’s largest economy were unemployed, on Thursday it announced that food inflation has accelerated at the highest pace in 15 years, compounding the misery of many households.

“It is really bad, I can’t simply afford to give my children what they really need in terms of food,” said Bolaji, a mother of three in her 50s based in the southwestern city of Ibadan. “I try to make them get the nutrients they need as growing children, but it is not enough,” she said, adding “I have had to cut down on meat and fish.”

Insurgency, unrest, and the stand of President Muhammadu Buhari’s government on food imports in a nation where more than half the population lives on less than $2 a day are worsening food insecurity in the African country. Meanwhile, the coronavirus pandemic has robbed 70% of Nigerians of some form of income, according to a Covid-19 impact survey published by the statistics agency last month.

Food inflation rose to 22.95% in March, caused by wide-ranging price increases across items such as cereals, yam, meat, fish and fruits. Those soaring costs have been in part blamed on a worsening conflict between farmers and herders in Nigeria’s agriculture belt that Buhari has struggled to quash.

The unrest, combined with the more than decade-long Boko Haram insurgency in the north, a weakening currency and higher fuel prices have also contributed to rising food prices, according to SBM Intelligence, a Nigerian research firm.

The situation has also been exacerbated by import restrictions on certain staples, such as rice, that have remained in place despite Buhari reopening Nigeria’s land borders in December following a 16-month shutdown in an attempt to end rampant smuggling.

Rising inflation has adversely affected the profitability of producers and is a major contributor to the low export penetration of made-in-Nigeria goods in the international market, the Manufacturers Association of Nigeria said in a statement on Friday.

“There is an urgent need for government to intentionally ensure price stability before the situation becomes deplorable,” the manufacturing body said.

Food prices will remain elevated until the security crisis, which has prevented farmers from returning to their land, is resolved, said Cheta Nwanze, a lead partner with SBM Intelligence. That’s “unless the government does the sensible thing and allows food imports to happen,” he said.

Until then Nigerians, who already spend more than half their earnings on food, have had to cut down. Just over 50% of all households reported reduced consumption between July and December last year due to the twin pressures of falling wages and rising food costs, according to Nigeria’s statistics agency.

Kemi Adedigba, a 42-year-old freelance writer living in Lagos, the country’s financial hub, is among those who has been hit by that double-whammy. Adedigba has two growing teenagers to feed, but is struggling with a steady drop in work even as her monthly food bill climbed by almost 70% since December.

“You are lucky if you get recurring gigs with the way the economy is going down the toilet,” she said. “It is a nightmare.”

Culled from the BBC

 

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Photographer alleges he was forced to watch Megan Thee Stallion have sex and was unfairly fired

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1 week ago

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April 25, 2024

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LOS ANGELES (AP) — A photographer who worked for Megan Thee Stallion said in a lawsuit filed Tuesday that he was forced to watch her have sex, was unfairly fired soon after and was abused as her employee.

In the suit filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, Emilio Garcia said that after a night out in 2022 in Ibiza, Spain, he was in an SUV with the hip-hop star when she began having sex with another woman right next to him. He was unable to get out of the moving car, and would have been in the middle of nowhere in a foreign country even if he was able. Garcia was “embarrassed, mortified and offended throughout the whole ordeal,” according to the lawsuit.

Alex Spiro, Megan’s lawyer, said she would fight the lawsuit in court.

“This is an employment claim for money — with no sexual harassment claim filed and with salacious accusations to attempt to embarrass her,” Spiro said.

The next day Megan told Garcia never to discuss what he saw and berated and fat-shamed him, the lawsuit said. The complaint also said Garcia, who had already considered quitting because he was overworked and underpaid in a hostile work environment aggravated by Megan’s possessiveness and abusiveness, was misclassified as an independent contractor but treated as an exclusive employee.

Garcia raised those issues in the conversation with Megan, and was fired the following day after four years of working for her, the suit said. He has since filed a job discrimination complaint with the California Civil Rights Department.

The lawsuit, first reported by NBC News, names as defendants Megan, whose legal name is Megan Pete; her companies Megan Thee Stallion Entertainment and Hot Girl Touring; and her label, Roc Nation. A defense response has yet to be filed. There was no immediate response to an email seeking comment from a representative of Roc Nation.

Garcia is seeking financial damages to be determined at trial, alleging he has suffered severely both emotionally and physically because of his treatment on the job, the firing and having to witness the scene in the SUV.

Megan, 29, was previously involved in major legal drama — and underwent a torrent of online abuse — as the victim of a shooting by rapper Tory Lanez, who a jury found fired at her feet on a street in the Hollywood Hills in 2020. She testified at the trial where jurors convicted Lanez of three felonies and a judge sentenced him to 10 years in prison.

Already a major rising artist at the time of the shooting, Megan has since become one of hip-hop’s biggest stars. She won a Grammy for best new artist in 2021, and she had No. 1 singles with “Savage,” featuring Beyoncé, and as a guest on Cardi B’s “WAP.”

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Body of O.J. Simpson to be cremated this week; brain will not be studied for CTE

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2 weeks ago

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April 16, 2024

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April 15 (UPI) — The body of O.J. Simpson, who died last week at the age of 76, is to be cremated, a lawyer representing the ex-football superstar’s estate said, adding his brain will not be donated for research.

Malcolm LaVergne, Simpson’s longtime attorney and executor, told the New York Post that his client’s body is to be cremated Tuesday in Las Vegas.

He said Simpson’s family also gave a “hard no” to scientists seeking to examine the former running back’s brain for chronic traumatic encephalopathy, which is better known as CTE.

CTE is a rare and little understood brain disorder that is likely caused by repeated blows to the head. According to the Mayo Clinic, CTE results in the death of nerve cells in the brain and the only way to definitively diagnose it is with an autopsy of the organ after death.

Memory and thinking problems, confusion, personality changes and erratic behavior, including aggression, depression and suicidal ideation, are among CTE’s symptoms, the Alzheimer’s Association said.

The disease has been found in those who play contact sports, including football and hockey.

LaVergne confirmed to NBC News on Sunday that at least one person has called seeking Simpson’s brain.

“His entire body, including his brain, will be cremated,” he said.

Simpson died Wednesday following a battle with cancer.

Known by the nickname “The Juice,” Simpson was a NFL superstar during the 1970s, which made him a household name that propelled him into film and television during the next decade.

But his stardom would come crashing down in the mid-1990s when he was accused of killing his ex-wife Nicole Brown Simpson and her friend Ron Goldman.

His high-profile trial lasted months, but ended with his acquittal.

In 2008, he was found guilty on a dozen charges, including kidnapping and armed robbery, and was paroled in 2017 after serving nine years of his 33-year sentence.

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Houston’s Urban South Brewery Celebrates Fourth Anniversary

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2 months ago

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March 14, 2024

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Urban South Brewery Houston will host its upcoming Anniversary Party from Friday, April 5 through Sunday, April 7, in the HTX Taproom, starting at 11 AM, celebrating four years of crafting exceptional brews and fostering community culture. This milestone event will be an exciting day featuring live music, food, activities, and a vendor market.

Beer enthusiasts are also in for a treat with the release of four exclusive anniversary specialty beers. Highlights include “Press Start,” a crafted Czech Pale Lager brewed in collaboration with Parleaux Beer Lab. Additionally, beer fans can indulge in “Level Up,” an Old-Fashioned Cocktail Sour Ale infused with orange peel, Luxardo cherry syrup, and subtle bourbon barrel notes. The offerings continue with “High Score,” a robust Double IPA bursting with flavors of Mosaic, Citra, and Chinook hops, and “Game Over,” a decadent Neapolitan Ice Cream Stout layered with strawberry fruit, Tahitian vanilla bean, and milk chocolate.

To make the celebration even more memorable, fans can pre-order an Exclusive 8-Bit Beer Box featuring the four-anniversary specialty beers (Press Start, Level Up, High Score, Game Over), a 16oz can-shaped Silipint with discounted refills, and 2 tokens redeemable for draft beer.

The Anniversary Party is open to the public, welcoming families and furry friends. Urban South Brewery invites everyone to join in the festivities and toast to four years of brewing excellence.

For more information on Urban South’s Anniversary Celebration, follow the Houston taproom on Instagram and Facebook.

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